AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND MARCH 23

 

Arthur left us forever in March 2020, during 19 years he played the clown for us ! He was a special cat, very intelligent.

Linking to AWWW MONDAYS 

 

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WEEKEND

Saturday my former neighbors had asked me to come and report my adventure with the justice of peace. The "To rent" advertising had been removed from my former apartment, because the judgement hadn't been signed yet. My want to be gentleman of landlord had hurried from the judge to the bank to ask the guarantee back. I saw it in my bank accounts that the money wasn't there anymore. 

Instead of nearly paying 4000 € he claimed for the damages I had caused (living probably alone with an elephant) he got 2500 which was the amount of the guarantee, and I added generously 100 € and told him with this amount I offer him a restaurant. The judge had difficulties not to laugh and my owner became red like a tomato. I feared he would explode and we had to clean the walls, but it didn't happen. 

My neighbor girls had a lot of fun because they didn't like him either. They were sure that I would win. They told me that there are no works anymore but that he had asked them if it was true that I had never used neither the oven nor the hood as I only used my microwave. He had written in the damages I had caused that the hood was dirty and the oven too ! What a liar.

Then I had to hurry home, because at 3 pm we played "Darts" I just arrived in time ! But I was a catastrophe. My dart landed everywhere except on the target and I was lucky that I didn't hit the bar or break any glass. Useless to say that we did our share of laughter exercise ! I had played only once in my life and that was in the 80th in London !! But there I won, as I didn't know the rules, I closed my eyes and throw the dart !

Fortunately we didn't play outside because there was a meeting of crows which made a terrible noise ! Probably somebody had put food in this place. 

On Sunday was an awful weather, cold, sunshine, rain, sunshine rain etc. Of course there was more rain then sunshine. That suited my mood, because I hadn't slept well and would have liked to kill the person who brought me the breakfast and said "Good morning, breakfast is here, have a nice day!" and he slammed the tray on the table. I mean, that's really nice, but not if you wake up because of it. To excuse him,  I have to say that you can't see my bed from the door.

Every Sunday we get croissants, but not this Sunday and I was almost out of musli. A nice start in the day !

It also rained and pottered around for once and in the afternoon I went to the restaurant where we had a nice memory game ! There were so many people, the circle became big and bigger, because the visitors participated too. We had to complete 3 letters into a word. Surprising we were all very good. Especially the 99 year old Jeannie here in her wheelchair. Then we drank coffee all together and the visitors helped with carrying the cups. We had a nice time old and young mixed together, that was really funny !

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

We started the weekend with the birthdays of all residents born in March. For this event they had hired  an amateur group who performed as best as they possibly could. I kept my mouth shut, because it was a bit funny, nobody understood English or only a little and so the titles the leader announced I couldn't understand as the French accent was so strong that it was difficult to understand. But everybody had fun and that was the most important !

Jeannie the 99 year old "danced" in her wheelchair and enjoyed it very much ! She always says, she doesn't care that she has difficulties to walk, the most important is to remain young in her brain and that she is. 

The day had come when I had to go to the Justice of peace. I had put the "novel" which my landlord had written, into my tablet, and also all the photos I had taken when we moved in and discovered something wrong. I knew that he was a complete zero concerning informatics, once he had showed his sophisticated and certainly very expensive mobile, but when I asked him to send me a photo, he didn't know how to do it and pay with the mobile he ignored completely, he had still cash in his pocket !

I had tried to transform myself into a beauty, despite my vintage age, and gathered all my charm, so that the landlord looked like a little gray mouse. He carried an enormous file with him, which the judge looked at cross eyed, I am sure he rolled his eyes. Then he asked us what the reason was of our presence I told him that Mr. X tries to renovate the whole apartment at my expense, although since 3 years I lived there alone, and had to visit my husband who was in a retirement home. To do all this damages the owner had listed, I must have lived there together with an elephant, which made the judge smile. And when Mr. X pulled out of his enormous file an unpaid water invoice, which I had got two days before, he impatiently told him that this doesn't concern a conciliation, and I took my phone and told Mr. X I pay you right away, his eyes nearly popped out and he became red like a tomato. I thought he would explode and we had to clean the walls, when the judge said to me, you pay nothing now, you pay when he gets the location warranty back, there is no hurry. I thanked him and smiled as "lovely" as I could. So now you both sign and it's settled. 

I think my owner will remember this day his whole life, he had lost and on top had mad a very poor impression. 

I said good bye to the judge and he had a little twinkle in his eyes, and then I left. I was very satisfied I had shown this macho, that not all vintage women are stupid and helpless without a man ! 

When I returned immediately all my resident friends came and asked how it was and the assistant Manager told me "Good girl" these men, they always think they are so clever !

In the afternoon one trainee had an exam and she came up with something very nice! "Inside bowling". For that she had filled little plastic bottles with sand, each with one color. Everyone was given 3 tennis balls that had been painted the same color. All we had to do was knock over the bottles. The balls flew through the restaurant, and sometimes knocked over a bottle. Otherwise it rolled at the other end into the toilets or hit our poor animator at a leg. Fortunately only the leg. After that we had our coffee chat and those who didn't know my story with the judge, now they knew !

The week ended with a memory game and a little shopping. Time goes by so quickly, When it's Monday it's already Friday !

For the first time I managed to walk to the end of our park, slipped through the half-open door and saw the small lake with ducks and all kinds of birds. I used to go for a walk there with my little Dario, but it had changed, now there were benches and also a wooden house where you could probably buy ice cream in the summer. Who would have thought back then that I would end up behind the lake! I was so happy that I managed to walk so far without being breathless!!

 

When I came back we were all weighed, sitting in a special chair !! I had lost 2 kgs which honestly I don't regret. In contrast to "normal" people, I get fat without eating normally, that's been the stress of the last few years. Hopefully now I'll be back to normal!

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HODGEPODGE MARCH 21

1. Spring is officially upon us, no matter what the weather may be in your neck of the woods. Is there any 'spring cleaning' on your to-do list? What's your most dreaded task? 

Youpee ! No spring cleaning anymore ! A gentle lady cleans my room every day makes my bed and even takes care of my laundry ! 

The only cleaning I have to do is for little Rosie. But I have to say I have 3 enormous "spring" cleanings behind me in the last 3 years, from house to apartment, from apartment a part for Ricks retirement home, another to take the things out when he passed away. Then emptying the apartment and move here into my "Castle". I think that's spring cleaning enough until the end of my life !

2. What's something many people seem to love, but to you feels like 'watching the grass grow'? 

That's being forced to listen to a piano concert of classical music ! It happened to me that I took earplugs with me, and watched the people who had a bored or excited expression on their faces. I think that it's due to my childhood when I had to go with my parents in these concerts !

3. Mint grows in abundance during the spring season. Are you a fan? What's your favorite food with a 'minty' flavor? 

 

Nothing ! I hate mint, fresh or dried, the smell makes me sick ! Once I had to drink mint tea in Morocco where it is the use to offer a glass of mint tea to the guests. I was surprised that it tasted quite good and not as our mint tea and I asked how this is possible and the grandma told me she puts a spice in the tea, I forgot what it was ! I think my hate for mint tea also came from my childhood, each time I was sick, my grandma gave me mint tea !! So I am traumatized by mint !

4. It's been said, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' Agree or disagree? Explain. 

It's true. When Rick died I didn't really realize that he was gone forever. It seemed to me to hear him shouting "Sacramento" with his deep Opera voice, he didn't need a microphone. 

Sometimes I surprised myself talking to him and then realizing that I talked to the wall. All my grief and pain came out when I lived alone in our apartment, the only thing left was Rosie the cat. She listened to me and also let me cry into her fur.

 

I had never felt so alone in my whole life. I also became very sick. My son lived far away and handled his grief alone. Since I discovered my "castle" I feel much better, I feel home, there are the friendly nurses who pay attention that I don't fall, that everything is OK. Now I feel part of a family and much better. But still when I look at his face in a frame on my bedside table, it hurts like someone is stabbing me in the heart with a knife. I try to find my new life, the beginning starts slowly.

5. Are there any festive spring events in your city or town? If so, will you take advantage of them?

Yes there are many but I don't feel like going. We decorated our restaurant for Easter yesterday and I will celebrate Easter here in our beautiful park together with the families of the residents, the children, and the dogs, I think it will be fun when the kids are searching for the Easter Eggs, and certainly the dogs will help !

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I think now, that my anger with the landlord is gone I am rid of the last worry I had. I went yesterday to the judge of peace, and when I saw him I thought he is on my side ! The troublemaker and his wife who was there as decoration or holding his hand, didn't say a word. I will write about this in another post, all I can say is that I won, he lost ! I got what I wanted ! Now he has learned that ol'women without a man at her side are not necessarily stupid. I have to admit I was a bit mean, because I had all documents in my tablet and the photos too ! I knew that he can't handle his smartphone and even worse a tablet. So he appeared with a thick file with enough papers in hit for at least 10 cases and I saw the judge look at the file and told him that he doesn't need all this, he wants to talk with us and try to find a solution without taking us to court !